Closure



Jan. 23, 1934. D1 R. MacKENzlE 1,944,355

CLOSURE Filed April 19, 1952 Hummm/'H 4 INVENTOR Patented Jan. 23, 1934 f UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE 7 Claims.

This invention relates to improvements in single cap closures.

An object of the invention is to provide a closure of the single cap variety adapted to be used in connection with vacuum packaging and pro-` vided with means permitting the seal of the closure to be broken without removing or displacing the closure.

A further object is to provide a closure of the single cap variety adapted for use in connection with vacuum packaging and equipped with means which may be manually withdrawn from the closure to break the seal effected thereby without destroying the value of the closure for use thereafter as a means of sealing a container.

A further object of the invention is to provide a closure of the single cap variety comprising a metallic cap and a rubber gasket cooperatingto effect a seal and having an element associated 20 therewith and positioned to longitudinally pierce the metallic cap closure and the rubber gasket so that on the withdrawal Vof said element the seal of the closure will be broken, but the continued usefulness of the rubber gasket will not be destroyed.

Other objects of the invention will in part be obvious and will in part appear hereinafter.

I The invention accordingly comprises the features of construction, combinations of elements, and arrangement of parts which will be exemplified in the construction hereinafter set forth and the scope of the application of which will be indicated in the cl-aims.

For a further understanding of the nature and objects of the invention, reference should be had to the following detailed description taken in connection with the accompanying drawing in which:

Figure 1 is a perspective view with a portion of the container broken away, showing the construction of a single cap closure embodying the present invention; and

Fig. 2 is a sectional view along the lines 2-2 of Fig. 1.

Heretofore, in the packaging of articles under a vacuum, or in the packaging of articles, for example, food products under such conditions that vacuum is later set up in the can by reason of shrinkage of the packaged material, it has been cover and depending skirt adapted to surround the first closure and keep it from displacement. and adapted further to act as the closure for the container after it is opened. Whena doublecap closure is used the inner closuremust be punct tured and its effect as a seal destroyed before the container can be opened.

Various attempts have been made to adapt a single cap closure to the vacuum package, as the double cap closure is expensive and inefficient.

The modifications of the single cap closure which have heretofore been suggested for use inV connection with vacuum packaging have, however, proved unsatisfactory. In many cases the gasket which acts to form the seal between the closure andthe container has been left unprotected so that it moves under the action of the vacuum and leaks are set up. In other instances caps have been designed Which can only be removed by the insertion of some outside object, such for example as the point of a knife. In other cases, single cap closures have been de-A signed which may be removed from a vacuum package, but which upon removal are spoiled for use as a subsequent closure. Y

This invention is designed to provide a single cap closure for use with a vacuum package complete in itself. Means associated with the closure are provided for breaking the seal and releasing the vacuum so that the closure may be manually removed. In breaking the seal, however, the value of the closure as a subsequent seal for the package is not destroyed.

Referring now to the drawing, 10 denotes generally a single cap closure having a top 11, a depending skirt 12 and inwardly protruding lugs 13 adapted to engage suitable protruding threads 14 on a container wall 15. Within the cap closure and positioned to make contact with the up- Y per edge of the container is a gasket 16 which 95 may be of any resilient material, preferably rubber.

A detachable member, which, in the form of the invention shown, comprises a bent pin 17, is provided positioned to pierce the closure 10 and the gasket 16. When assembled with the closure the point of the piercing member is preferably beneath the cover 11 and within the inner circumference of the gasket 16. The shaft of the 105 piercing member preferably lies substantially parallel to the cover of the container and pierces the gasket longitudinally. The piercing member may be provided with a handle 17 which, as shown, may take the form of a loop, and is pref- 110 erably bent back upon the cover of the closure, as shown for example in Fig. 1.

In operation, the closure is fastened to the container, for example, in a vacuum chamber, the pressure of the cover of the closure against the gasket and the pressure of the gasket against the top of the container effectively sealing the container. No leakage occurs about the pin 17 as it passes through the entire Width of the gasket which is held in contact with it by the pressure of the cover against the top rim of the container. When it is desired to open the container and remove the cover the pin 17 is withdrawn leaving a small aperture through the closure 10 and the gasket 16 into the body of the container. The vacuum seal is thus broken. When the pressure within the container approximates atmospheric pressure the closure may be readily removed manually by unscrewing. The closure may again function as a closure for the container by placing it in position and screwing it tightly down about the upper edge ofthe container. The aperture caused by the removal of the pin 17 is effectively closed by the pressure of the cover of the closure against the edge of the container and a tight seal is again effected.

Since certain changes in carrying out the above construction, and different embodiments of the invention could be made Without departing from the scope thereof, it is intended that all matter contained in the above description or shown in the accompanying drawing, shall be interpreted as illustrative and not in a limiting sense.

It is also to be understood that the following claims are intended to cover all of the generic and specific features of the invention herein described, and all statements of the scope of the invention which as a matter of language might be said to fall therebetween.

Having described my invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. A closure for containers, comprising a top having a depending skirt provided with container-securing means, a sealing member comprising a resilient gasket carried by said closure, said skirt and said sealing member having openings of substantially pin size positioned in alignment, and a member detachably connected to said closure and said sealing member and positioned within said openings and passing completely through said sealing member and said closure.

2. A closure for containers, comprising a top having a depending skirt provided with container-securing means, a sealing member carried by said closure, said skirt and said sealing member having openings positioned in alignment, and a member detachably connected to said closure and said sealing member, and positioned Within said openings and passing through said sealing member and the skirt of said closure.

3. A closure for containers, comprising a top having a depending skirt provided with container-securing means and a sealing member carried by said closure in juxtaposition to its top, said skirt and said sealing member having openings of substantially pin size positioned in. alignment, and a member detachably connected to said closure and positioned within said openings in the skirt and sealing member to close the same to form an air-tight seal.

4. A closure for containers, comprising a top having a depending skirt provided with container-securing means and a resilient sealing member carried by said closure in juxtaposition to its top, said skirt and said sealing member having openings substantially in the plane of the closure top and of substantially pin size and positioned in alignment, and a member detachably connected to said closure and positioned within said openings in the skirt and sealing member to close the same to form an air-tight seal.

5. In single cap closures of the character described, a gasket carried by the top of said closure and having an opening therein and a pin passing through the opening in said closure and an opening in said gasket and adapted upon its withdrawal to break the seal formed by the gasket.

6. In single cap closures of the character described, a gasket carried by the top of said closure, said closure and said gasket having openings therein positioned in alignment, and a pin positioned in said openings and passing through said closure and said gasket in a plane substantially parallel to the plane of the closure top and adapted upon its withdrawal to break the seal formed by the gasket without destroying the value of the gasket as a seal in subsequent use of the closure.

V7. A single cap closure for vacuum sealed packages, comprising a top and a depending skirt provided with locking lugs, a resilient gasket carried by said top, said skirt and gasket being provided with openings positioned in alignment, and detachable means associated with said closure and positioned in said openings and passing through said gasket and said closure and adapted upon withdrawal from said closure to permit air to enter said container.

DUNCAN R. MACKENZIE. 

